iPad Apps I Use - the essentials

As an IT student, I find that the iPad has become an important tool in my learning experience. As a result, I am going to do a series of posts on the apps I currently have on my iPad, starting with my "essentials".

Expense
I use this to keep track of my expenses. The ability to transfer money between accounts is quite awesome, as is the ability to run custom reports on your transactions.

Todo
Todo is my app of choice for managing my tasks. One of the winning features is it's ability to create repeated tasks; one can even set a task to repeat on certain days of the week. The interface itself is simple and easy to understand. I also find that it's "Focus" list has been particularly helpful when prioritising work.

Dropbox
I started using Dropbox in its desktop form last year to sync files for a group assignment. When I got my iPad, I had to get the iPad version so I could work on my pet programming projects away from home. The catch with Dropbox is that you need a Dropbox account before you can use it. On the upside, it's free (for up to 2GB) and it's also easy to understand. I had no trouble navigating the app.

Pages
My word processing app of choice. I find that it's usable, despite not having some of the fancy features of it's desktop cousins like Microsoft Word. I find that the interface is easy enough to navigate. One of the things that cheeses me off slightly is the option for having a bullet points is hidden in the list of formats.

Numbers
As with Pages, Numbers is usable despite lacking the fancier features that it's desktop cousins have. One thing I would like to see in a future update is the ability to set columns to a specific width. I find inserting functions to be a tad easier in Numbers than in Excel, in the sense that it's easier to differentiate the different levels in a series of nested functions.

Evernote
I started using the iPhone/iPod Touch version on the recommendation of a coworker. I found that the interface was simple and easy to understand. What I also liked about Evernote was that it had a desktop program. It proved to be particularly helpful in keeping track of my ideas so that I could refer to them later when I was at my desk.

GoodReader
It was my app of choice for viewing PDFs on my iPod Touch and it's now the only app I use on my iPad for the same purpose. What I like about GoodReader is that the user interface is it was easy to understand - I didn't have to trawl Internet forums to find out how to use it.

Penultimate
My "scribble pad" app of choice. I like it because the interface is understandable, intuitive and does what it says it will do. What lets Penultimate down is that it isn't exactly blessed with a wide variety of pen colours and nib widths. (Colours are limited to black, blue, green, red and light and medium grey. Nib widths are restricted to fine, medium and thick).

Next time: apps I use for programming.